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<\/p>\nA nine-car crash midway through the Anduril 250 eliminated race favorite Shane van Gisbergen and put him in the precarious position of possibly missing the post-season.<\/p>\n
Van Gisbergen\u2019s 38th-place finish dropped him outside the top 16 in the standings that qualify for the Chase\u2019s post season. The New Zealander is 17th in the standings, five points behind Ryan Preece in 16th, with nine races remaining in the regular season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just unfortunate,\u201d Van Gisbergen said about the crash.<\/p>\n
When asked how disappointed he was about the situation he replied, \u201cI\u2019m filthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Gisbergen led twice for seven laps before being eliminated in the lap 32 multi-car crash that occurred on the restart following the third caution period. Also eliminated was Van Gisbergen\u2019s Trackhouse Racing teammate Connor Zilisch. The NASCAR Cup rookie\u2019s 37th-place finish was his fourth of 37th or worse in the last five races. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have a chance to go win a race and you\u2019re in a prime spot to do so, but get put in a position like that, it\u2019s extremely tough,\u201d Zilisch said. \u201cI felt like we were just pacing ourselves and trying to get to the end of the race. I felt like we were really good, so it\u2019s just unfortunate to have our day end like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The accident occurred when leader Austin Hill locked up the rear brakes on his Chevrolet entering turn one.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got into turn one a little deep and started sliding,\u201d Hill said. \u201cI was sliding the rears, and I slid the fronts a little bit. On corner exit, I was fully locked to the right just trying to stay off the No. 88 (Zilisch). It\u2019s one of those racing deals.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I had the extra car width and the No. 88 wasn\u2019t there, I would have cleared fine but knowing that he was out there, I carried a little too much entry pace compared to what I had been doing all day. Right when I touched him and he got in the wall, it sucked me into him and I couldn\u2019t stay off of him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also collected in the melee were Daniel Suare, Ryan Blaney, Riley Herbst, John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Gibbs, and Michael McDowell. <\/p>\n
Track workers needed 9 minutes 33 seconds to repair the wall damaged in the crash. <\/p>\n
Reddick\u2019s Flat Allows Hamlin to Close Gap <\/p>\n
When eventual race winner Corey Heim passed Tyler Reddick for the lead with three laps remaining, it appeared his 23XI Racing teammate might gain a little breathing room in the standings lead with a second-place finish. <\/p>\n
However, Reddick\u2019s Toyota suffered a left-front flat and he had to settle for a 25th-place finish. It was just his second finish outside the top 20 this season but his second in the last three races. Denny Hamlin, with a 14th-place finish, is now just eight points behind Reddick with nine races remaining in the regular season.<\/p>\n
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NASCAR<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were involved in so much today,\u201d Reddick said. \u201cTo even have a shot at it at the end was really nice. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe kind of just struggled with rear tire life all weekend long. I got beat by our own stuff. We\u2019ll try to figure this out. It definitely stings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reddick said he didn\u2019t mean to run eventual winner and 23XI Racing teammate Corey Heim into the wall when they were dueling for the lead. <\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t going to pass him for the win that way, especially a teammate,\u201d Reddick said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if I cut the tire during, before or after. I\u2019m not really sure.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally needed a good points day. Had another really bad one.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the Coca-Cola 600, Reddick owned a 122-point lead over Hamlin who was second in the standings. Hamlin then won three consecutive races and became a challenger for the regular season championship that many had given to Reddick a month ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt really good about where our car was all day,\u201d Hamlin said. \u201cWe were at the line on pit road and he says, \u2018I don\u2019t think you\u2019re going to make it\u2019 and I steered hard left and the caution came out. That stunk. Had to start 19th or 20thon the last restart and only could get back to 14th. Inside the top 15, that was the agenda for this week and will try to go to Sonoma and do the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wallace Produces Best Road Course Finish<\/p>\n
Bubba Wallace overcame a two-lap deficit to place second in the Anduril 250, his best finish ever in a street\/road course event; however, it was a tough day. <\/p>\n
Wallace lost two laps when the right-front wheel came off his Toyota on lap 19 following a pit stop. The front tire changer knew the single lug wasn\u2019t tight when Wallace left his pit, but he couldn\u2019t stop him. The lug fell off in turn six and then the wheel came off in turn nine on the 16-turn, 3.4-mile course on the Naval Base Coronado. NASCAR assessed Wallace a two-lap penalty for the wheel.<\/p>\n
The 23XI Racing driver regained one lost lap on the third caution period and then was the beneficiary when the fourth yellow waved for the nine-car crash. With 20 laps remaining, Wallace was sixth. Ten laps later he was third and took over second when teammate Tyler Reddick\u2019s Toyota had a left-front tire issue. It was Wallace\u2019s second top five in the last three races.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are all busting our ass to perform and to have a little thing not go our way,\u201d Wallace said. \u201cI\u2019ve got to focus on what we can control.\u201d <\/p>\n
Larson Leads Chevrolet<\/p>\n
Kyle Larson, still trying to break a winless streak that now sits at 41 races, led the Chevrolet camp in the inaugural race on Naval Base Coronado, posting a third-place finish in the Anduril 250 after leading twice for 11 laps.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m surprised how scuffed up it is because we had a super-clean day, as clean of a race you can have on a street course,\u201d Larson said.<\/p>\n
![\"nascar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/60467830-aae7-4e94-927e-ce98697b7a48.jpeg\" "\\"NASCAR")
Sean Gardner\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Kyle Larson (right) racing against Shane van Gisbergen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a shot at the win there, if the strategy would have played out. I think it was between us and the No. 67 (winner Corey Heim).\u201d<\/p>\n
However, a caution with 13 laps remaining changed the race\u2019s complexion and made it a duel between Heim and 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey were just super strong,\u201d Larson said about the Toyotas. \u201cThey had a great package for the street course here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith Top Performer for Ford![\"nascar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f41437f8-1e88-4a33-b7a4-2c7b12efbb0b.jpeg\" "\\"NASCAR")
Sean Gardner\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Zane Smith.<\/p>\n
Zane Smith recorded his third top-10 finish in the last five races in the Anduril 250 to lead the Ford camp. <\/p>\n
\u201c(Crew chief) Ryan Bergenty did a phenomenal job to put me in the best position possible, to stay on offense and not just put me in a bad spot where things get a little chaotic,\u201d Smith said after finishing fourth for his second top five this season. \u201cRoad courses have been horrible for myself and this 38 team. We learned some in practice and made a good run out of it, so that makes me excited. Whether we had a bad finish or a good finish, we showed a lot of speed today (Sunday). I felt like that was the final area our team had to check that box.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell Turns Car Over to Crews<\/p>\n
When the first caution period occurred 12 laps into the inaugural Anduril 250, Christopher Bell, still dealing with a broken left wrist, stepped out of his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and turned it over to JGR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series driver Brent Crews.<\/p>\n
The two had practiced the driver exchange often during the week leading up to the race. Even though it occurred during the yellow flag, Crews still found himself 37thon the restart. However, it was a mechanical issue on lap 30 that sidelined the team. That left Bell with a last-place finish in the 39-car field and cost him two positions in the driver standings. He dropped from 10th to 12th with nine races remaining in the regular season. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was kind of going through the gears and it just broke,\u201d Crews said. \u201cI\u2019m going to have to have Adam (Stevens, crew chief) to look over it and myself to figure out if it was something I did or if it was just a freak accident. Once I look at it, I\u2019ll have more answers.\u201d <\/p>\n
Special Homecoming for Goodyear Employee<\/p>\n
Numerous former military personnel work in the NASCAR community, but for 21-year Goodyear Racing associate Art Clever, the weekend on Naval Base Coronado was a special homecoming.<\/p>\n
Forty-one years ago, Clever served on the base as an Aviation Electricians Mate (AE3). He celebrated his return by visiting his old shop in the VRC-30 building. Clever also accomplished his 41-year-old dream of signing the wall, a tradition at the end of enlistment. He never had the chance to sign it until this weekend because he was transferred to a different duty station before leaving the Navy.<\/p>\n
Clever has been with Goodyear Racing for 21 years, serving as the race event operations manager. His duties include overseeing at-track tire distribution and collection. <\/p>\n
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